Pakistan and Afghanistan Updates: Teenager Shot for Opposing Taliban

Pakistanis hold candles during a protest to condemn the attack on of 14-year-old schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai, who was shot on Tuesday by the Taliban for speaking out in support of education for women, in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) -- A 14-year-old Pakistani girl who is an advocate of education for girls and a critic of the Taliban remains on a ventilator but is said to be in stable condition today. Malala Yousufzai (mah-LAH'-lah yoo-SOOF'-zeye) was shot and wounded by a Taliban gunman in the Swat Valley on Tuesday. She was airlifted to a military hospital, where doctors removed a bullet from her neck. The bullet went into her head before travelling toward her spine. An army spokesman says it is too soon to say whether she had a significant head injury. But he says her sedatives have been reduced and she managed to move her arms and legs. The attack has drawn widespread condemnation inside Pakistan and internationally. Some 500 tribal elders held a rally in support of the girl in the Swat Valley's main town, Mingora today. Elsewhere in northwestern Pakistan, a car bomb tore through a crowded bazaar outside an office for anti-Taliban tribal elders, killing at least 17 people. Local officials blamed it on the Taliban, who have staged similar attacks to punish elders for backing security forces in offensives against militants.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) -- Local officials in northwestern Pakistan are blaming the Pakistani Taliban for a car bombing that killed at least 17 people today. The blast tore through a crowded bazaar outside an office for anti-Taliban tribal elders in a town near the Afghan border. No group has claimed responsibility, but the Pakistani Taliban have staged similar attacks in the region to punish elders for backing security forces in offensives against militants. It's unclear how many people were in the office at the time, but a local official says the dead include tribal elders as well as passers-by. He says 40 people were wounded and some are in critical condition. The Provincial Information Minister is urged the federal government to launch a "decisive operation " to eliminate the militants. He says: "Instead of wasting time, we should hit them back," adding that it will save innocent lives.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Attacks in southern Afghanistan have killed at least eight people today. The deadliest incident came in Kandahar, where a suicide bomber on a motorbike blew himself up at a local intelligence office, killing four Afghan intelligence officers, a coalition service member and a civilian employee working for the coalition. Three other Afghan intelligence officers were wounded, including two who were in critical condition. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. Insurgents frequently target Afghan security forces and government officials in an effort to weaken the government. A second attack killed two Afghan policemen and left three others wounded in the capital of neighboring Zabul province. A provincial spokesman says a police vehicle ran over a roadside mine, then a second blast struck police who had rushed to aid their colleagues.

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